Huawei exec faces U.S. fraud charges linked to Iran, court hears

Meng is being accused of violating United States sanctions against Iran and deceiving banks to do so, and faces extradition to the US.

Vancouver: Chinese telecom giant Huawei´s chief financial officer faces USA fraud charges related to sanctions-breaking business dealings with Iran, a Canadian court heard Friday, a week after she was detained on an American extradition request.

Meng, who also has used the English names Cathy and Sabrina, served on the board of Skycom between February 2008 and April 2009, according to Skycom records and several other past and present Skycom directors appear to have connections to Huawei. The prosecutor says she assured banks that Huawei and Skycom were separate companies but he says the USA contends that Skycom is Huawei.

The arrest, revealed by Canadian authorities late on Wednesday, was part of a United States investigation into an alleged scheme to use the global banking system to evade American sanctions against Iran, sources say. However, the court heard from a crown lawyer that Huawei controls Skycom.

A lawyer for Meng denied the allegations, called the charges against her "preposterous", and urged the court to release her on bail.

The company says she faces extradition to the United States on unspecified charges.

The crown compared Meng's case to that of Su Bin, a Chinese businessman accused of stealing USA military secrets who was denied bail in a BC court in 2014, presenting the case as a precedent to also deny bail to Meng.

"The Canadians could have said: 'She got away just as we were trying to catch her!' They didn't do that, partly, I think, because Trump has made it pretty clear that he can play rough-house politics with Canada, as well", Courtis said.

The company faces being shut out of Australia, New Zealand and USA 5G rollouts, and British telecom group BT revealed on Wednesday it was removing Huawei equipment from its core cellular network.

Earlier this week, Canadian officials said Ottawa was continuing to review Huawei's technology for use in upcoming fifth generation networks.

A lawyer representing Meng argued that she would not breach a court order and leave Canada because doing so would humiliate her father, Huawei and "China itself".

Huawei was founded to sell phone switches but it is now the world's biggest supplier of network gear for phone and internet companies. He said Meng would agree to wear an ankle monitor. The prosecutor said she is accused of fraud.

The case has emerged in the midst of U.S. moves against Chinese companies accused of stealing technology and Beijing's suspicion that Washington is trying to use politics to weaken China's continued growth.

Ming Xia, a professor of political science and global affairs at City University of NY, said Meng's arrest was another example of how members of Trump's trade team know how to use very sharp, pinpoint moves to teach China a lesson. She was widely considered to be his likely successor.

"Yet Washington, in persuading and pressuring its allies to shun cooperation with Huawei, has helped erode that political trust", the English-language paper said.

Huawei staff briefed on an internal memo told Reuters on Friday the company had appointed Chairman Liang Hua as acting CFO following Meng's arrest.

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